Covington Calls Zuffa Boxing "a Big Slap in the Face" and Brands Conor Benn "a Bum" Over $15m Deal

Colby Covington has launched a fierce attack on Dana White's Zuffa Boxing venture, calling it "a big slap in the face to us UFC fighters" in a row over pay. The former interim UFC welterweight champion took aim at Conor Benn's reported 15 million dollar single-fight deal with the new boxing promotion, branding the Briton "a bum" and "a nobody" and asking why he would be paid that kind of money. Benn was stopped in the second round by Ryan Garcia in their WBC welterweight title fight in Las Vegas in September, and Covington pointed to that defeat as proof the payday was unjustified. The criticism lands at a sensitive moment for the UFC, with figures cited by Bloody Elbow putting the promotion's revenue share with its fighters below 20 per cent. Covington retired from UFC competition earlier this year after being denied the spot he wanted on the UFC Freedom 250 card outside the White House in June, and he has since become one of the loudest voices on fighter pay. He was submitted by Raul Rosas Jr in under 45 seconds in a submission-only match in Rome on Tuesday, and next wrestles Khamzat Chimaev for the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship in Abu Dhabi on November 14. Whatever happens there, his message to White is clear: boxers are cashing in while UFC fighters are not.